Golden Eyes
by Kiki's Writing Service
Summary: Dawn is finally starting her journey with her best friend Barry. She sets out to be a Coordinator and Trainer, doing Contests and Gym battles. Of course, trouble never rests, and Barry and Dawn are up with challenges they didn't think possible. Especially when legendary Pokemon are involved, Team Galactic, and a jealous someone. Can they take it, or will Dawn lose sight of things?
1. Golden Eyes

**Dawn does not look like she does in the anime (*shudder*), just the games, and most certainly not have her girly personality. Anyways, this story is Diamond, Platinum, and Pearl all together. It will have each of their aspects, and some things I created. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 1:

Dawn sat on the floor in her neat bedroom, watching the news report about the red Gyarados that resided in Johto, in the Lake of Rage. It quite interesting, especially when you're so used to blue Gyarados and how the dimwitted reporters got nothing whatsoever. If one was going to do a news story on it, they should have more proof of it all. Nevertheless, she wished they had so she could see it up close, not just a rough drawing (that wasn't even colored! The nerve!) that someone sketched.

She turned off the TV with her remote, for a dumb game show was up next, and she did not want to watch that, and hopefully never would. She got up from the shaggy rug on the floor, dusted herself off, and skipped downstairs, where her mother Johanna was knitting something furiously, probably for Barry, her long-term best friend. Every year, she knitted something for Barry, probably just to make him squirm. Johanna did enjoy see him making him make outrageous faces at them.

"Hey, Mom!" Dawn exclaimed cheerfully, walking into the kitchen to get some lemonade, one of her favorite drinks. The bluenette opened the refrigerator and grabbed a clear can of it, the yellow liquid swishing around as she opened it.

"Hey honey," Johanna replied, finishing up her work and working a bit slower. "Barry came calling for you about ten minutes ago. Maybe you should go see him," She placed the sweater next to her and switched on the TV to the cooking channel. Dawn gulped down the last of her sweet drink and headed for the door. Right when she was about to open the door, her mother turned around abruptly, and Dawn could sense she forgot to say something.

"Dawn! Remember not to walk in the wild grass. You don't have any Pokémon, remember?"

Dawn nodded once as her mother waved goodbye, and headed out into the ever present Autumn Twinleaf Town. There was a slight breeze in the air, which made it even crisper than usual. During the past year, Sinnoh had become considerably colder than usual, and Twinleaf Town actually had a thin layer of snow on the ground. She walked down the road for a bit, enjoying the scenery, as she did every day, and then turned a sharp left. Right around the bend was Barry's house, which was practically the same model as Dawn's except in reverse, and not to mention it was way more exciting than hers. She knocked on the polished door, and Barry opened it with a large bang and ran into Dawn, who tripped backwards.

"Barry!" Dawn complained as she fell down, looking at her friend with a nagging glare. This scenario happened quite frequently, and yet, Barry never learned from his mistakes.

"Oh hi Dawn!" He exclaimed, his fiery eyes sparkling as she got up."I came by your house earlier, but you were asleep. Now you're awake, so let's go! If you're late, I'm fining you 1 million dollars!" With that, Barry ran a couple of feet, and then stopped abruptly, a look of stupidity etched across his face.

"I forgot my journal!" he yelled, then ran back inside, slamming the door loudly.

Dawn sighed, then followed suit, seeing as how she was welcome in his house anytime. Walking inside, and sharing an understanding glance with the blonds' mother, and then climbed up the stairs to his green, yet fashionable, room, where he was frantically searching for his brown journal. Barry threw everything off his desk, a pen narrowly missing Dawn's head, found his journal, and then ran back to Dawn, him tapping his foot as if he wanted to _go_.

"If you're late, I'm fining you 10 million dollars!" He yelled, completely pumped, his orange eyes bright with excitement. Barry then ran out the door, leaving a trail of dust in his midst. Dawn followed him, and could hear his mother talking to herself about how hyper Barry was.

Dawn slowed down to a walk, and walked straight forward to Route 201, a scenic little route where people hung around, not really wanting to battle, more to converse, if anything. Why _the heck is Barry so excited?_ Dawn wondered to herself as the bluenette walked straightforward. She then shook her head as if she was crazy, and then followed the road once more, deciding she would enjoy today, and not rush around like some excited Jolteon. No, she was more like a Shuckle- she liked to take things slowly and peacefully.

Barry was waiting up at the top of the road, tapping his foot impatiently, with his arms crossed. When he heard Dawn approach, he spun around and grinned, his annoyance with her being slow gone. He was positively bouncing on his heels from the buzz of excitement about whatever he wanted, and he kept running a hand through his already unruly blond hair, and then his grin just got wider and wider.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Dawn asked, cocking an eyebrow, staring at Barry, who seemed to be on a never ending sugar high, with a look of exasperation on her face.

"Duh, there's obviously a Pokémon in the lake here too, so we're going to catch it!"

Dawn shrugged her shoulders indifferently. What Barry wanted, she would deal with. It had been that way for years, starting from when they were just teensy little children, when Barry just demanded that he play with her. He and her started walking up to the lake, which was their old playground from when they were kids. Wonderful memories indeed…

"Woo! We're gonna catch ourselves a Pokémon!" Barry yelled, pumping his fist in the air, right before they entered through the of thick thicket trees. Dawn rolled her blue eyes, but persisted through the trees with Barry. While Barry was rushing, Dawn was taking her sweet time, making sure not to trip like Barry was every five seconds. She did not want to be like Barry, even though he was so fun to be around. If they were to swap personalities, she'd probably die. Everything so punctual and fast for him. Maybe he wanted to hang on to his youth. They were only eleven going on twelve, it's not like anyone would just openly flirt with one another anyways.

In what seemed like a split second, her thoughts diminishing, she felt a chill from behind. She twirled around, and saw a pair of glowing golden eyes, blinking at her from the darkness. Dawn's eyes widened and she ran to catch up with hyper Barry, not wanting to find out who those creepy eyes belonged to.

~oOo~

Lake Verity glistened and sparkled, the crystal water rippling gently, all thanks to the sun that was shining brightly up in the clear sky, with the couple wisps that tried to pass themselves off as clouds. It was what one would call, a "perfect day." To top it off, there was just a gentle breeze in the air, making Dawn's hair flutter gently. Both Barry and Dawn stood side by side, staring at the lake, basking in its beauty. Then the two seemed to snap back to reality and focus on what was on, in, or under, even over the lake. Or whatever it was that Barry had dreamed up.

"Where do you think this magical Pokémon is?" Dawn asked, a slightly annoyed tone accenting her voice, with her hands on her hips, looking around at Lake Verity. Barry, on the other hand, didn't answer but were several feet ahead of her, inspecting something. Curious as a cat, Dawn jogged over to him and tried to see what it was. Barry, sensing that Dawn was trying to see, moved out of the way, a good foot or so. In front of her was a beat up brown briefcase, its handles fallen over on the side and a post it note with a messy scrawl on it.

"What do you think is-?

There was a fierce flapping of the wings sound right as Barry was about to finish his sentence, and in a flash, two Starly came flying towards the two kids, their eyes fierce and their beaks unusually sharper than the average bird Pokémon. As if on instinct, they started attacking Dawn and Barry, scratching and pecking ever so fiercely. Barry grabbed Dawn's shoulders and yanked her backwards towards the briefcase.

"No time to find out!" Dawn yelled. She clicked open the briefcase, silently praying there would be something inside, and truly, inside were three, crisp Pokeballs, freshly polished and standing out from the brown. She grabbed one, then Barry did too, and they threw the balls in the air, hoping to release a strong Pokémon that would make these annoying birds go away. In a flash and large amount of light, a blue penguin Pokémon leaped out of Dawn's and Barry's leaped out a Chimchar, its little tale ablaze with the fire on it. Dawn recognized hers as a Piplup, right as it chirped out it's name.

"We need to battle!" Barry yelled, and tried to swat the angry Starly, but no such luck. It only ended up successfully scratching his hands, making them trickle out just a bit of blood. He would need a band-aid later.

"Fine!" Dawn snapped, shielding her blue eyes from the Starly. Barry and her were back to bck

"Piplup, use Pound!" Dawn yelled and Piplup rammed into the bird Pokémon. Dawn gasped, and looked at the Starly that was on the ground. "Oh my, I'm so sorry!"

Dawn turned around to watch Barry's battle. It was going very good, and he seemed to be really into it, yelling and cheering and making hand motions. His Pokémon was just like him too; fiery, impatient and headstrong. Chimchar than scratched the Starly continuously, and the Starly flew backwards. Dawn winced; that must've hurt the poor Pokémon.

_I don't think I'm cut out for battling_, Dawn thought to herself, and then commanded Piplup to use Pound again. After the last attack, the Starly fainted on the ground, and Barry's had been knocked out for five minutes, and Barry's Pokémon was in its, ball, so Dawn returned hers too.

"Whew, that was awesome!" Barry said, his eyes filled to the brim with excitement.

"They'll be okay, right?" Dawn asked, looking down at the Starly with a bit of concern, temporarily forgetting the nuisance they were.

"They will, don't you worry Dawn!" Barry said, and then he raised his hand in a high five. Dawn smiled and slapped his hand.

"You know I like Piplup!" Dawn said, looking at the Pokeball fondly.

"Hey!" a voice called out from the entrance of the lake. It sounded rather strained, and male, and very out of breath. "Did you use those Pokémon?"

A boy jogged towards them, a binder tucked under his arm and a half-eaten sandwich in the other. His blue eyes looked rather tired and even worried, and he had dark hair tucked away by a multi-colored cap, which was tilted slightly to the left. He came up to the two of them, and looked at them in exasperation. "Did you?" He asked again, dropping the sandwich and binder as he rubbed his temples. Barry eyed the sandwich longingly.

"Yeah, but we used them only because some Pokémon attacked us!" Barry protested bravely, recovering from his longing for food, now folding his arms and glaring at the cap wearing boy. Dawn nodded silently in agreement.

The boy sighed and bent down to pick up his dropped items on the light green grass."Come with me," He started walking towards the entrance again, and Dawn and Barry followed in confusion, with Dawn looking at Barry like, _what the heck?!_ They kept walking and walking until they reached Route 201 once more.

"Listen guys, these Pokémon are owned by the Professor and they're extremely rare! Like super! You guys shouldn't have used them!"

"You're basically saying that you wanted our eyes pecked out," Barry said, looking at the boy. The boy rolled his eyes at him, but continued anyways.

"I'll let you keep them one more day, I'll just tell the professor it's a long story, and they'll be here tomorrow. By the way, I'm Lucas,"

"I'm Dawn, and this is Barry, he's impatient, hyper, feisty, headstrong and reckless." Dawn said indicating the two of them with her wiggling finger.

"And this is Dawn, she's boring, slow, not tough, thinks I'm insane," Barry mimicked Dawn's voice and act, but it didn't sound like her; it was way to high pitched. The funny thing was, Barry didn't even notice that Dawn was introduced twice, as Lucas sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"It was nice meeting you Dawn, I'll just go and tell the professor this completely whacked up story…" Lucas smiled a completely forced smile. She felt bad for the poor boy; his original plan probably wasn't for two pesky kids to battle with ultra-rare Pokémon. "Barry. See y'all around," Lucas nodded and walked away towards Sandgem Town. As soon as he was out of sight, Barry jumped in the air, pumping his fist up and regaining that energy he had before their little escapade.

"Yes, our own Pokémon!" he cheered excitedly, and grinned at Dawn, his smile looking like it could take up his face.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, but we have to give them back tomorrow." She said, looking at Barry like he was crazy, which was partly true at least. It was sad that they had just gotten Pokémon and had to return them, but that was a little something called life.

"So what, do you really think I care?!" Barry snorted, right as a breeze picked up. He looked up at the sky with a dreamy expression etched on his face. "I'm going to spend more time with this little guy; you go on ahead to Twinleaf." He said, now distracted with the Pokeball in his hand, and with his other, a dismissing wave. Dawn rolled her eyes but smiled, and proceeded to go on to their cheery little hometown.


	2. The Adventure Begins

**Lucas has an evil side….**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 2:

"Piplup!" Dawn called out in a singsong voice to the little blue penguin Pokémon. Piplup waddled over to Dawn, who set down a food and a red water bowl for it. It originally belonged to one of her mom's old Pokémon, but now it was officially Piplup's. Piplup began pecking at it, and before long, it was all gone, and the water completely vanished, down to the last lingering water droplet on the sides of the bowl

"You're quite the eater!" Dawn exclaimed, smiling at Piplup fondly, and bent down to rub its sweet little head. "I'm not that big of one, I like things slow and steady when I eat. Just like everything else."

"Piplup!" Piplup agreed, and started to run around in circles. Dawn laughed when she saw this, and started to chase it around playfully on her knees, letting Piplup get ahead of her. They were having so much fun they didn't even notice Johanna in the doorway, taking pictures with her lime green camera that Barry's mother gave to her on Christmas three years ago.

"Mom!" Dawn complained, standing up and brushing off her clothes of any dust but she still was smiling. She really loved having Piplup; it was so much fun, even if her embarrassing mother was just being ridiculously obsessed with scrapbooking or whatever she did nowadays. If Johanna put this in her memory book of Dawn, it would probably be labeled in neat cursive print; "Dawn's First Pokémon fun!"

Johanna laughed at her daughter, then her smile slowly faded as she delivered the news to Dawn. "Honey, I think it's about time for you to go to Professor Rowan's and return darling Piplup. Barry's at his house, if you want to go together." Johanna glanced sadly at Dawn, whose face immediately fell as soon as her mother was done talking.

"What? No way, I can't give up Piplup!" Dawn said, disbelief on her face. She scooped up Piplup and hugged it.

Johanna pouted, then she smiled. "Barry said the same thing, except there was a lot of shouting. How 'bout you go over to his house, I think that boy Lucas wants those Pokémon back fast. You know, he's really cute, are you sure you don't like him?"

"No, I don't," Dawn said rolling her eyes. "And how did you even see him? He was on Route 21 with us, I don't even know how you did, unless you were spying on Barry and I..."

"Then what about Barry, speaking of him." Johanna narrowed her eyes while holding back a prim little smile at Dawn, who blushed fiercely at the prospect of her, ever liking her best friend since forever. Just preposterous. Piplup squirmed out of her arms and on to the perfectly clean, like ever, floor.

"I do not!" She protested, folding her arms and scrunching up her nose at the now grinning Johanna. Johanna walked over to the kitchen, and leaned on the counter, her slender fingers drumming against the nice countertop.

Johanna laughed."Just go! I'll have a snack ready for you when you get home. It's fine if you go in the tall grass, seeing as how you have Piplup now."

Dawn, not looking at her mother, picked up Piplup again (who wiggled and tried to escape her grasp) and walked out the door, softly closing the door behind her,

Walking straight and making a straight bend, the usual way, she arrived at Barry's house. She knocked on the door, and Barry opened the door with Chimchar on his shoulder. Instead of always smiling like usual, he looked miserable and tired with dark circles under his eyes. He frowned when he saw Dawn.

"What are you doing here?" Barry snapped rather rudely, rubbing an eye. Dawn raised an eyebrow, a bit shocked that optimistic and sunny Barry could ever say that to anyone, let alone her. With her famous look, Barry blinked a couple times, his eyes widened, and he realized it was Dawn he was talking to, not some idiot trying to sell him PokeGirls Weekly. Gosh he hated that magazine.

"Oh, sorry Dawn," Barry said, yawning and stretching at the same time, narrowly hitting the bright and eager Chimchar. He didn't seem very sorry though; just a bit like a bossy know it all.

"What happened?" Dawn said, looking at him with disbelief, forgiving him for the burst of rudeness that had just occurred shortly.

"What do you mean?"

"You just look not as good as usual. Not as happy, and not as ready for adventure." Dawn said, frowning as she surveyed him. He looked as if he just got out of rehab or something like that. "I mean like, what happened to you?"

Instead of looking even more depressed, like the bluenette thought he would, Barry grinned. It was an amazing difference on him, but nevertheless, it was strange in the particular situation "So you think I look good every other time?"

Dawn blushed. What was up with her today? "I never said that!"

"Yes you did!" Barry said, his orange eyes sparkling dangerously. He nudged Chimchar, and the fire monkey Pokémon looked at Dawn all-knowingly, which made her squirm on the spot.

"Never mind that! What happened to you!" Dawn asked, but not before she smacked his blond head/

"I was up all night, trying to devise a plan to keep Chimchar," He said groggily, yawning between every word and pointing to Chimchar as he did so.

"Chimchar!" Chimchar said, his tail blazing up and bouncing on Barry's shoulder. That must've hurt. Then again, Barry was immune to all harm, or at least, that's what he said two years ago.

"You may have done that, but you need to wash up before we get to the professor's." Dawn said, pushing Barry back inside and closing the door on him. Dawn sighed. Sometimes she felt very protective of Barry, just because he acted so immature. Imagine, if he went to Professor Rowan's looking all sleepy, what kind of impression he would put on Lucas and the professor.

Five minutes later, Barry came out, looking normal with Chimchar on his head, a forced smile on his face.

"Alright, let's go!" he said with fake enthusiasm, and thus, the duo set off for Sandgem Town. As they walked, Piplup once more broke free from Dawn and Chimchar followed.

"I really wish we could keep them…" Barry trailed off, looking at the two Pokémon with adoration in his eyes. "You know, we could become cowboys and ride away with them, living life of rebel-ness. Is that a word?"

"I don't know," Dawn said dismissively, staring at Piplup, choosing to ignore Barry's quirky scenario. "That would be stealing." They stopped talking, for they had arrived at the tall grass and hoped not to run into anymore insane Starly. They made it out okay, and arrived in the town of Sandgem. Right down the street was the lab; they had seen it numerous times on TV.

"Hey Dawn!" Someone called out from the front of the lab. It was Lucas. Barry and Dawn stopped to talk to him.

"Oh hi Barry, didn't see you there!" Lucas said, smiling at the two of them.

"I'm three inches taller than Dawn; it's pretty easy to see me." Barry said, frowning at Lucas in deep suspicion.

"Anyways," Lucas said, ignoring Barry. "Come on in!" He opened the door for Dawn, but let the door swing shut for Barry. Outside, Barry gritted his teeth but then recomposed himself.

The lab was very high-end and technology was everywhere. In the middle of the room was old Professor Rowan looking over everything that was whizzing and whirring. Lucas led them to him, and then introduced everyone except Barry.

"I'm Barry, your _kind and helpful _assistant has brought us here so we can give you our Pokémon. He's _so wonderful_," Barry said through gritted teeth, but at the same time giving the older man a cheeky grin.

"Idiot," Dawn muttered under her breath, but no one heard her.

"Nice to meet you," Professor Rowan said, shaking both of their hands. "May I see your Pokémon?"

"Sure!" Dawn said, and handed over Piplup, who tried to break free of Professor Rowan's grasp. Dawn also grabbed Barry's, for Barry was too busy glaring at Lucas, who mysteriously didn't notice, to listen to the Professor.

A minute later, after carefully examining them, Professor Rowan handed the Pokémon back to Barry and Dawn.

"They're yours!" He said, smiling, making crinkles around his stormy grey eyes. He looked so much more pleasant to be around when he smiled. "Even though your Piplup and Chimchar are young, I can tell they've bonded with you. You can honestly keep them."

"You mean it?" Barry and Dawn said together, in sync. The joy overwhelming her was just... overwhelming, and the fact that she got to keep it was so amazing.

"Of course, now may I speak to you two?" The Professor asked rather briskly. Dawn nodded, but Barry just snorted in disbelief, like he couldn't grasp the face that Professor Rowan wanted to talk with the two of them.

"No way! I'm out of here. Hey Dawn, I'll be right outside of the town, kay?"

And with that, I bolted, leaving Dawn alone in the lab with Lucas, The Professor, and two assistants, one who looked at lot like Lucas.

There was a settling awkward silence, and then the Professor began to speak.

"Dawn, as you know I'm a Pokémon Professor and strive to know everything about Pokémon. Of course, I can't do it alone, not with my age and there's just too many Pokémon. So I ask people to, along their journeys, look at Pokémon with this. It's called the Pokedex." The Professor said, handing Dawn a pink device with a few buttons flashing on it.

"It automatically records any Pokémon you see or catch. And as soon as you fill it up, the more enhanced my research becomes. Lucas has one, I was going to give one to your friend, but he bolted off, and so I'm wondering if you would take it." The Professor said, looking at Dawn with trust in his eyes.

"Um… okay, I guess!" she said cheerfully. She put the Pokedex in her side pocket of her bag, and nodded once. That would be fun to use, and it would be completely useful for any Pokémon she would catch.

"Wise choice," said the Professor, winking. "Please fill it up as much as you can. It's always so refreshing to know I have aids to help my research."

"Now, you'll be taking a Pokémon journey, I presume?" Lucas asked, shifting his cap from one side to the other. "You can't really fill up the Pokedex sitting around in your house can you?"

"Yeah, I think. I know I is, so I guess I will too. I still don't know what I should do though. I mean, I don't think I'm cut out for battling." Dawn said.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck." Professor Rowan said. Dawn shook his hand and then exited the lab. She walked down Route 201 and back to Twinleaf Town, a smile on her face that would not vanish, not matter how many times she tried to frown.

"Mom, I'm back!" She yelled as she opened the door, bounding into her house and sitting herself down on the couch.

"Hey honey, how did it go?" Johanna said, exiting the kitchen and wiping her hands on her apron.

"Awesome!" Dawn squealed, walking over to the kitchen to see what was cooking in the oven. "Gosh, I sounded like such a girly girl... Anyways, I and I get to keep our Pokémon, all thanks to the Professor. Something good did come out of that program I guess! I mean, if I hadn't been dragged to the lake and

"That's great!" Johanna said, shooing her daughter out of the kitchen. Dawn sat herself down at the table as her mom brought over dinner expertly in one hand, which was tuna casserole in a glass dish. Not her most favorite dish, but she could eat it.

"Yeah, and I's going on a Pokémon journey." She said, taking sensible bites of her food.

"Are you?" Johanna asked.

"Yeah, I guess, but I don't know whether to do be a Coordinator or a Trainer. I mean, when I defeated that Starly, my heart broke, but it's way harder to be a Coordinator." Dawn said, bussing her plate. Johanna smiled.

"It's up to you,"

~oOo~

"Alright Dawn, I've packed you two outfits. One's for when it gets really cold out and the other is for any other time. I do know with Sinnoh's rising " (Dawn's Diamond and Pearl outfit, and Platinum outfit for clarification.)

"I guess I'll wear the regular one," Dawn said, peering into her bag. "I mean, unless I go to Snowpoint City

"Good choice!" Johanna said. "You have everything you need?"

"You bet I do!" Dawn said excitedly, her grin still on her face from the previous events. Today was the day she was finally going on a Pokémon journey.

"Alright, you just must come by and show me what kinds of Pokémon you caught, okay?" Johanna said, checking her daughter's bag. It seemed to be all set.

"Dawn, I have something for you," Johanna said, and then gave Dawn a Journal, one just like Barry's. "Use it to keep track of everything that you're doing,

"Thanks Mom! Bye!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Bye!" Johanna closed the door and let her daughter go.

~oOo~

Barry said he would wait for her at Route 201. Barry declared he'd be there, and he'd fine Dawn 1 million dollars if she was late. But he wasn't there, and she wasn't late. Barry was never late; he was always early, waiting for everyone else and "fining" people. Perhaps he got so impatient and frustrated that he just left. That wasn't like Barry, not at all. And who knew him better than his best friend?

Five more minutes passed. And then ten more. Where was he?

"Dawn!"

There he was. Or rather, his mother Sonny was.

"Um, hi!" Dawn said with uncertainty. "Where's Barry? He said he'd meet up with me here..."

"Hello Dawn," She said, panting, ignoring her question. Her brown hair was frizzy this morning, and she looked rather stressed.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked, looking at Sonny strangely.

"My little Barry ran off yelling something about an adventure and before I could talk to him, he left. Since you're heading towards the same place, do you think you could deliver this to my little baby?" Sonny said, handing Dawn a parcel.

"Yeah, I'd love too!" She replied, and took the parcel.

"Thanks dear," Sonny said in relief. She then waved to Dawn and walked back to her house.

Her little baby? What was up with that? Dawn thought to herself, but decided to press forward since Barry was most likely in Jubilife City. And that was the next city from Sandgem Town. There were only a few trainers there, and a lot of wild grass, but she had to hurry- Barry was impatient and was most likely to stay in one place for two days, at the very most.

All thoughts of Barry disappearing, she wondered what kind of Pokémon she would want. Bidoof was so common, and bug Pokémon were just… ugh. Starly, she developed a kind or phobia with… Boom, an idea hit her.

Shinx. Not a whole lot of people had that, and it was wicked strong, not to mention extremely cute. That was the one she wanted to catch, and she would. She doesn't give up. Not now, and not ever.


	3. Off To Get Poketechs

**I said crazy, didn't I?**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 3:

Dawn prowled around, looking for Shinx, but no such luck yet. She had seen a Bidoof, Wurmple, and some Starly, but no adorable electric mini-lion. _Never give up_, her mother would tell Dawn. So she took her mother's words to heart and persisted through Route 201, her blue eyes darting around. _Come on, come on_, Dawn thought to herself as she searched and searched_. Maybe if I just walked through, it would show. That happens in the movies in a lot, especially in adventure ones Barry and I like to watch._

_No time to think_, Dawn thought, being unintentionally hypocritical as she saw a jolt of electricity past two thick trees. Dawn blinked for a moment and slowly edged towards up to where she saw the electricity spark. As soon as she was in front of the three, she put one hand on the trunk of it and peered from behind the left tree, surveying the ground to see if a Shinx was there. Unfortunately, there was nothing, just the grass and few dandelions that were protruding from the ground.

With a dejected sigh, she pressed on.

"Oh," she said, a bit in shock, and bent down to look at the injured Shinx. It was lying on the ground, knocked out with dirt on its face and body. Dawn scooped it up in her arms and began walking towards her destination again, except much faster since the poor thing was badly injured, casting sad glances down at the poor Pokémon.

"Hey you! Stop so we can battle!" A boy with a backwards cap called out to Dawn, waving his hand wildly, beckoning for her to come over to him.

"Do you see what's in my arms?" Dawn replied in a bit of a loud voice, and quickly ran and ran until she reached the outskirts of the city. Dawn took a deep breath a slowed down, just a bit. The poor little Pokémon was moaning now, so she had to speed up once more.

At last she was inside the city. It was huge and so clean, with bustling people and Pokémon everywhere. The buildings were like skyscrapers, and the massive roads just led everywhere. If not of Shinx, Dawn would've just stopped and stared.

There it was; the Pokémon center. She rushed inside and handed the Shinx to Nurse Joy, who looked a bit taken back by Dawn's sudden thrusting of Shinx in her arms.

"Please heal it," Dawn pleaded, gulping and looking Nurse Joy dead in the eyes.

"It would be my pleasure," Joy replied, smiling kindly at Dawn, and then took Shinx to the back for a moment before popping her pink head out of the door. "Just wait here, okay?"

Dawn nodded and sat down on one of the cushions, deep in thought about really everything. Five minutes passed, then ten, and then twenty, all gone like it was nothing, and then Nurse Joy came out with a bounding, and most certainly healthy Shinx at her heels. Shinx gave a playful growl and hopped into Dawn's lap, purred contentedly and then lay down.

"Shinx is all better now, so if you want you can put it in its Pokeball." Joy gave an all-knowing smile to Dawn, who looked from Shinx to the nurse and a large grin split across her face.

"Well, do you want one?" Dawn asked Shinx, scratching it behind its ears. Shinx, in response, got up and rubbed its head affectionately against Dawn's stomach. Taking that as a yes, Dawn pulled out a Pokeball and Shinx almost immediately went inside. The ball quivered for three seconds, and then she could hear the click of it locking, safe and secure inside.

"Alright, we'll be off!" Dawn said, getting up and waving at Nurse Joy. "Thank you!"

~oOo~

_Where would Barry most likely be at?_ Dawn thought to herself, carrying the parcel Barry's mother had given her as if it were glass. If he were at the Pokémon center that would be way too ironic for her taste and, well, the city was just so colossal. Lost in her thoughts, she crashed into somebody whom she did not previously see.

"Oh!" an old man said, rubbing his back, and dropping his cane, which clattered to the side walk loudly. He wheezed a couple of times before quieting down with the loud breathing.

Dawn gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried out, bending down in a flurry to grasp the cane, which she gave back to the man, who gratefully took it and used it to prop himself up back up to his standing position.

"Oh it's fine," The man sighed. "But it's the second time today. A kid came with a scarf a lot like yours and just ran into me and started fining me money. He certaintly was fiery, and then he bolted off to the trainers' school."

"I'm so sorry again!" Dawn said with an apologetic smile. She waved goodbye and bolted over to the Trainers' School, then, slowing down, entered the cute and quaint little school, which was a bit surprising for such a utopia of a city.

Inside there were lots of kids, either battling off to side or taking notes, occasionally glancing up at the blackboard. They all seemed to be in the age range of six to nine, but one person stood out, partially because he was so tall. Barry was right up at the blackboard, most likely studying. Dawn crept up behind him silently, giving away nothing that she was there.

"I have a package for little baby Barry!" Dawn exclaimed in her best baby talk voice.

Barry jumped up in surprise, and spun around, a wild look on his face.

"Hey Dawn, did my mom go on about that? Is that how you know?" Barry demanded, folding his arms, and looking very slightly sheepish.

"I've a got a package, and yes, it very much is. Next time you really should let your mother know, I swear she was going to have a heart attack or something. Plus, it's not so bad, I call you my blond cupcake."

Barry rolled his eyes and grabbing the package. He tore it open excitedly, the brown paper flying in all directions possible, one landing in Dawn's navy hair. She, still watching Barry, brushed it out of her hair and it fell to the ground joining the others.

"Hey look, there's a town map!" he exclaimed, holding the map up to the light quickly, admiring it, before casting a glance down at the parcel. "Wait, there's two, I don't need two, so you can have one," Barry handed one to Dawn.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed, folding it up.

"So, have you decided what you want to be?" Barry asked, leaning against the board, making some of the small children grumble with annoyance. Barry discarded their complainants and kept staring at Dawn, to see what she would say.

"Well, I think I'm either going to watch or compete in the Jubilife Contest, just to see what's up. If I don't like it, then I guess I'll do Gym battles." She said, fiddling with her hair before letting it fall back into place.

"Cool! Can I come too?" Barry asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess." Dawn shrugged. "I don't see why not!"

"Awesome!" Barry cheered, grinning a quite profound and congenial smile at his best friend.

"Hey old man!" a little kid called out to Barry, his hands on his hips as he cast a glance at the now smudged blackboard, plainly annoyed. He was one of the children who were annoyed with Barry, and they had elected this little boy to 'beat some sense' into him.

"What old man?" Barry asked, frowning at the child.

"You!" The little kid replied smarmily, trying to fight back a giant grin as Barry's eyes immediately went ablaze and that grin disappeared just as fast.

"I'm fining you 20 million dollars for that!" Barry shouted at the kid, most likely forgetting that it was just an eight year old boy, and not someone his own age. Dawn face palmed as Barry began to rage even more, shouting even more illegible things before repeating his previous statement.

The kid's eyes filled with tears slowly, his attitude rapidly changing. "I- I- I- don't have that kind of money!" he wailed, wiping at his eyes furiously as he glared up at Barry, still obviously sad.

"Barry!" Dawn scolded, then wacked his arm, hard in her opinion, but most likely not. "We're going!" Dawn dragged Barry out of the school by his striped shirt and back outside.

"So where are we going?" Barry asked earnestly.

"To register for the Contest, I've decided I'm going to do it!" Dawn said determinedly.

"Not so fast!" Barry protested, his feel skidding against the side walk as he tried to get out of Dawn's, for the moment, iron grip, but ended up failing. "We need a Poketech!" He shouted as Dawn stopped abruptly.

"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot!" Dawn said, and smacked her forehead once more, and looked at Barry. "So are we-

"Well, come on!" I already got the coupons!" Barry interrupted, digging in his brown messenger bag and show casing two sets of Poketech coupons at Dawn as pride clouded over his face.

"You have two sets of them?" Dawn questioned, looking at them impressed, but still a bit confused on how he got them. _What did he do, steal them? I wouldn't be surprised… _She thought. "Did you ask for two sets?"

"Yeah, now come on!" Barry yelled, and it was his turn to drag Dawn around, definitely getting revenge for the wrinkles she gave to his shirt.


	4. Registering For The Contest

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 4:

Barry dragged Dawn all the way to the massive Poketech Company building, him chattering away about the devices, Dawn listening politely. The sliding glass doors opened for the pair, and the two entered it and kept walking until Barry approached a man with a nice business suit on who appeared to be the president of the Poketech Company. He started chatting with him, going a million miles a minute until very slowly settling down, and then presented the coupons to him.

"Thank you! Now which colors would you like?" The president asked, pocketing the coupons and surveying the two children and bringing out a tray full of the Poketechs,

"I'll take the orange one, and Dawn? What color do you want?"

"I'll take the pink one," She replied, and received her Poketech alongside with Barry. She fastened it on her wrist and held it up to the light a bit. It looked really nice, and it would definitely come in handy as her journey progressed! And it matched her outfit, what could be better than that?

"Thank you for using Poketech, it's nice to see young spelunkers out adventuring!" The president remarked to the duo.

"Um yeah, now we have to register for a Contest!" Barry yelled giving the president a quizzical glance, and not wavering from tradition, grabbed Dawn's hand and dragged her out of the Poketech Company, as most of the employees stared in wonder after them.

"Barry, why are you in such a rush?" Dawn asked, plainly exasperated. To tell the truth, she didn't even know why she kept asking these questions at her best friend of so many years. It was his personality, not to mention his father was a lot like him as well.

"I just need to get to Orebugh City so I can do my first Gym Battle!" Barry exclaimed, pumped.

"Well, if you want to do it so badly, just go!" Dawn said with a laugh, rolling her eyes at the same time.

"Nah, if I'm going to support you, you're going to have to be my personal cheerleader!" Barry whirled around, and pointed at Dawn, a troublemaking glint in his fiery eyes.

"Who said that?" Dawn blinked, frowning slightly. _Since when did I agree to that nonsense?_

"I did!" Barry smirked, trying to supress a laugh at Dawn's frankly ridiculous expression.

Dawn sighed. When was Barry going to settle down? He was so overconfident and hyper.

"Barry, you go somewhere, anywhere, I don't care, I need to practice and register for the Contest, and I want it to be a surprise." She sighed, partly telling the truth. She also needed a break from the noise, the being dragged around,

Barry recoiled. "Sure, um, okay, I'll I um go somewhere now." With that, he turned around, and started walking away, shaking his head, like in disbelief. Dawn heaved a sigh of relief. She turned around, and started walking north, to where the beautifully decorated Contest Hall was.

oOo

"So which Pokémon do you want to enter for the appeal round, and the battle round?" The lady behind the counter asked. She pushed a piece of paper towards Dawn

"For the appeal round, I'm entering Shinx, and for the battle round, I'm entering Piplup." Dawn said, filling out the form quickly with her pen. Sure her handwriting wasn't the best, but at least it was legible and people could read it.

"Alright, you're all set!" the lady said cheerfully. "Here's your ribbon case, and your ID for future contests. Next in line please!"

Dawn held the ribbon case and the ID gently. She was going to be a Coordinator, she was sure of it. At first, she was unsure, but seeing everyone so excited and pumped, it just made her join the buzz. _Now, what to do next_. Then Dawn remembered. Her mother was sending her a package for the Contest after she called her and told her she was going to be a coordinator. Her mother was overjoyed, so she immediately sent something to the Jubilife City Pokémon Center, so quickly in fact, Dawn wondered if she had been planning this moment.

As she neared the Pokémon Center, anticipation got the best of her and she broke into a run. She burst through the doors of the Pokémon Center and ran to the counter.

"Hello!" Joy greeted cheerfully, just as she did to anyone and everybody who entered the center.

"Hi Nurse Joy! Do you have a package for me?" Dawn asked, gripping the counter. Why was she so excited? She was acting like a giddy schoolgirl, or when she was six and couldn't wait to go downstairs to

"Let me check," Nurse Joy said, and checked on the computer, the screen reflecting in her eyes. "Yes we do, let me go get it!"

"Thank you so much!" Dawn gushed. Nurse Joy went to the back and was there for about a minute. When she returned, Joy had a medium-sized package in her hand and gave it to Dawn.

"There you are!" She exclaimed. "Would you like to stay here for the night?"

"Yes please, one with two bunk beds." Dawn had told Barry she'd get them a room, so she did.

"Okay, you are Room 23." Nurse Joy said. Dawn thanked her then went to the upstairs where the rooms were. She kept walking down the hall until she reached number 23. She unlocked the door using the hotel-room like key Joy had given her. Dawn opened the door and stepped inside, then closed the door so she could see whatever her mom gave her.

Dawn tore open the package and inside was a white dress with coral colored straps and a coral colored ribbon that made a huge bow around the waist. In the middle of the bow on the ribbon was a place where you could insert your Pokeball for the Contest. At the top of the dress was lime green strip of cloth. Next to the dress were two butterfly shaped bows, with spirals at the bottom. For shoes there were white sandals.

"Mom! Thank you so much!" Dawn said to herself. She folded the dress back up and put it back it its box, and at good timing too, for Barry had just come in through the door, looking his usual self.

"Hey Dawn! Did you get any practicing done?" He asked, crashing on the lower bunk and watching Dawn as she set the box aside and grabbed her other things.

"No, I'm about to go." Dawn said, and picked up her bag. "I'll be back in about a half-hour."

"The Contest is tomorrow, right?" Barry asked, already fixated on his Poketech.

"Yes, but I've seen enough of them on TV and I already know what I'm going to do, so I don't really need to fret." Dawn said, and then she exited the room, with saying an absentminded goodbye to Barry, who grunted something in response.

"I'm going to sweep that Contest, just you wait and see," she said to herself, and proceeded down the hallway, feeling overconfident that she would win the Contest and make her mother proud.


	5. Jubilife City Contest: Part 1

"Welcome one and all, boys and girls, men and women to the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest! I'm your announcer Marian!" Marian, the rather peppy and bubbly announcer, cheered out into her microphone. She winked at the audience, and then continued.

"Today, we will see some spectacular performances by experienced and inexperienced Coordinators. Let's all give them all a round of applause before they begin!" With Marian's help, the whole stadium erupted in claps and cheers, even come cat calls could be heard.

"Let's meet our judges! First we have our very own Nurse Joy!" everyone burst into applause once more if they even stopped clapping. "Next we have Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo!" There was less applause for the last two, but still a lot. "Anyways, please wait for a few minutes while our Coordinators get ready!" Marian finished, winking once more.

Backstage, Dawn fidgeted nervously in her handmade dress. Piplup's Pokeball was in the middle of her bow and Shinx's was in her hand, and Shinx's she was afraid she would drown in her sweat. She had put seals on both of them to boost their appeal, make their entrances special. She was around all the other Coordinators watching the screen anxiously, though some of them seemed at ease. They were instructed to wait there until they were up next, then they would wait behind the curtain before their turn would begin. The order they would go up in was posted on a piece of paper off to the left. Dawn was number 19 out of 24.

She nervously wondered if Barry was out there, watching. Chances were he probably got bored and started on Orebugh City. But if he was there, that would probably boost her moral by like 45 percent, as Barry, though he infuriated her a bit, Her thoughts were instantly canceled out by Marian, who introduced the first contestant.

"Alright, our first contestant is from Hearthome City. Give a big hand to Ari!" Ari appeared on stage, his black hair in a ponytail. He was extremely well-dressed, with designer clothes and very nice poise. He smiled at the audience then threw his Pokeball in the air. An array of music notes showered everyone. It was quite an impressive seal, Dawn noted.

Out of the Pokeball leaped out a Gallade.

"Now Gallade, please use Trick Room!" Ari commanded. Gallade nodded, and instantly used the move. The whole stadium was turned into virtual cube. The audience however, was not in the Trick Room.

"Now, if you may, I would like you to use Shadow Ball, then Confusion." Ari said, and smiled. Gallade used Shadow Ball, and shot it up in the air. To keep it in place, it used confusion, and the Shadow Ball levitated in place.

"Please use Charge Beam!" Ari asked, and Gallade responded by spinning around and using Charge Beam, and it made a ring around it.

"Now kindly use Fury Cutter," Ari commanded, and Gallade jumped up and used Fury Cutter on the Shadow Ball, and the Shadow Ball exploded into fireworks that crashed onto the Charge Beam, making that explode. As if all a dream, the Trick Room disappeared, along with everything else. Ari and Gallade bowed and waited for evaluation.

Dawn's eyes were wide. "How am I, let alone anyone, supposed to beat that?"

"Oh, it's fine!" a girl said next to Dawn. "Air's always is showing off his Pokémon in the appeal round, and he always gets into the next, but when it comes to battling, he's not the best."

"Really?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah. I'm Stevie, by the way. I'm going for my second ribbon." Stevie said, extending her hand. Dawn shook it.

The other contestants' appeals went by like lightning, and before Dawn knew it, number 19 was up. She was waiting behind the curtain, when her name was called. Dawn ran out, and threw her Pokeball in the air, and bubbles surrounded Shinx as it did a flip. Shinx landed on its paws perfectly.

Dawn looked around for Barry in a second. She didn't see him.

"Shinx! Use Charge!" Dawn commanded, deciding to press on with grace. Shinx closed its eyes, and electricity was absorbed into its body. "Spark!" Dawn yelled, and Shinx released Spark, right against the small wall. Spark bounced from wall to wall, very close to the floor, and Shinx was right in the middle, so every time Spark crossed the middle, Shinx either did a flip or a jump.

"Wow! Look at that! It's like a real life Pokémon pinball game, and Shinx is dodging it with such elegance! Amazing!" Marian exclaimed as her blue eyes stayed glued to the performance.

Dawn looked one last time in the audience to see if Barry was there, a large sweep of the whole arena. The only thing she saw somewhat out of the ordinary was a little fire. A little fire? She looked up more, squinting a bit, and saw Chimchar perched on someone's, no… Barry's shoulder. He seemed to be really confused about something, but was watching.

"Time for the finale Shinx!" Dawn yelled, complete with a small grin on her face. Shinx gave a battle cry and used Charge. The Spark came super close to Shinx, and Shinx charged headfirst with a tackle, and the Spark burst into falling golden dust. The whole hall erupted into cheers, and Dawn curtseyed and waited for evaluation, inwardly praying she would do good.

**Reviews are appreciated! **


	6. Jubilife City Contest: Part 2

**Next chapter is up for all of you! I would like two reviews from two different people before I continue. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 2:

"Wow! Using Spark as a pinball was quite the great idea!" Nurse Joy exclaimed to Dawn.

"This performance showed agility, strength, and creativity. It was simple but put on a wonderful show." Mr. Contesta said, smiling.

"I found it remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said.

"Thank you!" Dawn said, and she and Shinx exited the stage to let the next person come and do their performance. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she once more joined the people backstage. Dawn sat down with Shinx next to her.

"You did quite a good job,"

Dawn looked up. In front of her were Ari and his Gallade.

"Oh thanks, but it was nothing compared to yours!" Dawn said politely. Ari smiled.

"Thank you, but I show off too much. Yours was so much more simpler." He said, bowing to her. Ari is quite the distinguished character, Dawn thought. As Ari and Gallade walked away, Marian began talking again.

"Alrighty then!" She exclaimed. "We have the results of the trainers going on to the next round!"

Instantly the screen was filled with twelve empty spots. One by one, the boxes were filled with the pictures of the Coordinators who were moving on to the next round. In the first box was Ari, and the fourth one was Dawn. She moving on, baby!

"These are your Coordinators!" Marian said cheerfully. "They are divvied up into three groups. Two battles for each group. The winners in each group will battle each other, and then move on to the semi-finals. So enjoy your battles!"

First up were Ari and a Coordinator named Bill. Ari sent out a Flygon, and Bill sent out a Bidoof. In a matter of minutes, Bill and his beaver Pokémon were defeated, and so Ari moved on. The rest of the battles were over in two seconds, and Dawn defeated two opponents. She was in the semi-finals. Of course, she got unlucky when Ari was her opponent.

"Five minutes starts, now!" the referee called, and the battle begun.

"Flygon, use Sandstorm," Ari said, and Flygon proceeded. Instantly the battle field was covered with a sandstorm. Flygon wasn't affected, but Piplup flew backwards.

"Alright Piplup, use Bubblebeam!" Dawn commanded, and from Piplup's mouth a stream of bubbles came. Flygon easily dodged it, however, and Dawn lost points.

"Use Bubblebeam on the ground, and then use Peck!" Dawn commanded. Piplup did so, and hit Flygon square in the chest. Ari lost points, but Dawn was still behind, and five minutes was almost up.

"Flygon, care to use Faint Attack?" Ari asked, and Flygon used the dark attack. Before Piplup could dodge, it hit it and Piplup was knocked out.

"Ari wins the match!" The referee said, holding up the red flag. Dawn returned Piplup, and went up to Ari to shake hands. She then proceeded to go backstage and get her things, then join Barry in the stands to watch the rest of the battle. Grabbing her bag and Pokeballs, she used the exit that led into the stands.

"Sorry!" Dawn said, as she passed people in the row to get to the middle. "Excuse me!"

"Hey Dawn!" Barry said, and picked up Chimchar, who was sitting in Dawn's saved seat. "Too bad you lost!"

"Yeah, it's fine. And I've decided something!" Dawn said, releasing Shinx, who instantly climbed onto Dawn's lap and fell asleep.

"And what would that be?" Barry asked while watching the ongoing battle.

"That I'm going to do Contests and Battles," she replied.

Barry choked on the popcorn he was eating. "What?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm going to try both at least." She said, stroking Shinx's blue fur.

"So… you're not going to be my personal cheerleader?" Barry asked frowning at Dawn.

"I'll still support you," she said, looking at Barry.

"So no cheerleading outfit?" he asked, rubbing his chin.

"Yes. Wait, you wanted me in a cheerleader uniform?" Dawn asked, an eyebrow raised.

"It would've been funny," said Barry with a laugh.

"It would've." She said, and the laughed. They grew silent, since it was the presenting of the ribbons. Ari had beaten his opponent in the final match, so he was presented the Jubilife Ribbon.

"Congratulations!" Marian said. "We'll see you next time at the next Contest!"


	7. Onward to Orebugh!

**Please review!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 9:**  
**

"Dawn! Dawn!"

Dawn rubbed her eyes groggily. She looked at the clock- it said 5:12. No way was she going to wake up, let alone get up. Completely out of the question.

"Dawn!"

Why wouldn't Barry give it a rest? Dawn buried her head in her pillow, trying block out her friend's voice.

"I'll be waiting right outside of Jubilife City, since you won't get up." Now it was Barry's turn to be grumpy. Dawn heard him grab his bag, put it on, then stomp out of the room, grumbling about lazy and inconsiderate people. Dawn rolled her eyes, yeah, she was the inconsiderate one. Talk about rude!

Great, now she couldn't go back to sleep. Dawn tried closing her eyes once more, and counting Mareep, but it didn't work. She was awake, and whether she liked it or not, she would have to go outside of Jubilife and go to Orebugh with Barry, since he obviously got up at this ungodly hour to go there.  
She got out of bed, rubbed her eyes one last time, and got ready. She put on her clothes, then socks and shoes, then her pink boots. She brushed her long navy hair, put the clips in, and then put the beanie on. She packed up her bag and her Pokeballs, and then checked the room to see if it was nice. It looked fine to her, so she opened the door and exited the hallway down to the Pokémon Center below.

Dawn checked out with Nurse Joy, then proceed out of the Pokémon center and out to the sun-barely-coming-out Jubilife City. There was practically no one outside, and it was still a little dark. Nevertheless, she kept walking until she reached the city limits, where one man was sitting on a bench.

"Hey, Hey, you!" He whispered to Dawn. "Yes you with the cool scarf!"

"Um hello… What is it?" She whispered back.

"Do you know the nefarious Team Galactic?" He asked, looking around.

"No, this is the first I've heard of them. Why?" Dawn asked.

"I want you to help me capture them!" The man said his eyes wide.

"Who are you?" Dawn questioned.

"I am Looker," he said, then looked around again. "I'm part of the Sinnoh private police force,"

"Why me?" she asked, bewildered.

"Because the one who is up the earliest is the best to recruit," Looker said like he was announcing lunch.

"Wasn't there someone else?" Dawn asked, trying to see if this Looker dude knew where Barry went.

"Yes, but he rocketed off over there," Looker, said pointing towards Route 203

"Thank you!" Dawn yelled as she ran over to Route 123. About halfway was Barry, tapping his foot and looking more impatient than usual.

"Dawn! I challenge you to a battle, right here and right now!" Barry yelled, his orange eyes bright with excitement and adventure.

"What? Well, alright!" Dawn said, and the two brought out their Pokémon.

"Starly! I choose you!" Barry exclaimed, and threw the Pokeball in the air.

"Shinx, come on out!" Dawn said, and released Shinx.

"I'm starting us off!" Barry demanded.

"Okay," she shrugged.

"Starly, use Wing Attack!" He yelled, and Starly's wing came out as it flew, hitting Shinx. Shinx recoiled, but appeared to be fine.

"Now Shinx, use Charge, and then Spark!" Dawn commanded. Shinx's little body absorbed a lot of electricity, then released it with Spark, and Starly was knocked out.

"Wow Dawn, you're good, but not good enough for Chimchar!" With that, Barry threw Chimchar's Pokeball in the air. Chimchar gave a battle cry and its tail flared up.

"Now Chimchar, use Ember!" Barry exclaimed. Chimchar released a stream of embers right at Shinx. It didn't have any time to dodge, so Ember hit all over. Shinx flew back, but still managed to get back on all fours again. However, Shinx was much weakened and collapsed.

Dawn returned Shinx, and brought out Piplup. Piplup was a water type, and Chimchar was a fire type, so it would be a cinch defeating it. Stop being so overconfident! She scolded herself. That's how you lost the Contest!

"Alright Piplup! Use Bubblebeam!" Dawn commanded, and Piplup released a stream of bubbles. It hit Chimchar, who skidded back.

"You're good Dawn!" Barry called out. "Chimchar, use Scratch!" Chimchar advanced on Piplup, and proceeded to scratch it vigorously. Piplup hit a few, but dodged a few.

"Now Piplup, use Bubblebeam one last time!" Dawn yelled, and Piplup proceeded with the attack. Chimchar got the whole wing of it, and skidded on the ground, knocked out.

"What the-

"Yay! I won!" Dawn exclaimed, jumping in the air.

"Alright, you won, fair and square, but mark my words; I will be the best Pokémon master in the world!" Barry yelled, making all sorts of hand-motions.

Dawn giggled. "Off to Orebugh City!"


	8. Enter Team Galactic

Chapter 10:

Orebugh City was certaintly stony, the most perfect place to house rock Pokémon. There were, in fact, many rock Pokémon working around, along with their trainers. Dawn found Orebugh City to be a bit stone cold.

"So where's the Gym?" Dawn asked, looking around at the city.

"Right here," Barry said as he looked up at the rocky Gym.

"Oh," Dawn said, embarrassed that she missed such an impressive building. Barry rolled his eyes, but stopped short as he saw a sign.

"Dawn, look at this!" Barry said, and squinted to read the sign. Dawn came up next to him to read it.

_'Hey all challengers! I'm going to be in the mines for a couple of days, helping out with something. Since I won't be able to battle you, take a badge from the bowl and write down your name and when you want to battle. Come by that time, and I'll battle you. Thanks for your consideration!' _The sign read.

"Huh," Barry said, folding his arms. "I guess we take one," He looked at the bowl full of Gym badges, and took two, and handed one to Dawn. He put it in his badge case, and Dawn followed suit. They put their names down for the leader to look at.

"Barry? Where are you headed next?" Dawn asked as they walked away from the Gym.

"I'm going to train by myself for a bit, maybe up above the and then I'm going to hit the Eterna Gym." Barry said leisurely, his hands behind his head.

"Cool. I think I'm going to hit Eterna City." Dawn said. Then the realization hit her. "Then we're going to have to part ways," Dawn continued, her heart sinking. She had enjoyed spending time with Barry, and now it was time to part. And probably, if she saw her hyperactive friend every day, she would get sick of him. Perhaps it was good that they part. Perhaps it was.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you around," Barry said. Dawn nodded once, unable to speak. Of course, their moment was ruined when a rock hit Barry in the back of the head.

"I'm GOING TO FINE WHO EVER THREW THAT A MILLION DOLLARS!" Barry yelled at the top of his lungs, causing people to stare, and ran off. What a nice way to say goodbye, Dawn thought sarcastically to herself. She dismissed the thought and headed back to Jubilife to get to Eterna City.

Climbing back into the small cavern, and chatting with the mountain man there, Dawn thought about upcoming Contests and Gym Battles. There was a Contest in Hearthome, but that was supposed to be mega hard. Better stick to Gym Battles, she thought to herself. Dawn had made her decision- she would do Gym Battles for sure, but if there was a Contest, she would enter. It certaintly would be fun to do the Grand Festival, but Dawn knew she was stronger in regular battles.

Ah, sunlight, Dawn thought as she emerged out of the cavern. She took a deep breath and erased all negative thoughts from her mind. It instantly worked, for her thoughts became happy and she broke into a smile. Skipping down the path, she waved to some trainers who were training. Surprisingly, without Barry, there was a heavy weight lifted off her shoulders. Barry was just so immature, and she often felt like his mother, and having to take care of him was

She passed lots of trainers, some battling, some waiting for a challenge, and she skipped alongside everybody. Ah, there was Jubilife, and according to the map Barry's mother gave her, she should be able to get to the next town if she went west then north.

Now she had entered the city. It was more crowded than usual, but still the same. Skyscrapers high up, (super high up) many shops, and twice as many people bustling around. West then north, Dawn reminded herself. West then north.

The end of the city was approaching; she could see it as plain as day, what with all the grass and trainers, and the snow white fence trailing it. It was so different from the city... However, in front of the exit were four people, apparently arguing. Dawn slowed down to a walk to see what was going on. It seemed to be Professor Rowan and Lucas with two men in creepy space suits with unnatural greenish colored hair.

"Hey Dawn!" Lucas smiled for a second as the blue haired girl came up, but then stopped with a grimace when the space dudes started talking. She got the sense he didn't like them one bit.

"Give us the Pokedex or your assistant here will get it!" The first one grunted, motioning to Lucas.

"Dawn, team up with me!" Lucas cried as the second one began to shout harsh things at the Professor.

"Okay!" Dawn, said, and she released her Shinx. Lucas threw his Pokeball in the air and out came a Turtwig. The Professor observed everything with a smug smile on his elderly face, and continued to when the space dudes released their Glameows.

"Turtwig, use razor leaf!" Lucas commanded, and Turtwig proceeded to shoot razor sharp leaves at the cat Pokémon. The Glameows recoiled, and anyone could see they were weakened. They could so win this battle.

"Shinx, use Charge, and then Spark!" Dawn yelled. Shinx nodded at Dawn, and began to absorb electrical energy, then released it in one giant burst of electricity. The Glameows flew backwards, and hit the ground, fainted and defeated.

"Glameow!" The second grunt cried, kneeling down on the ground beside his Pokémon. His expression turned from worry to disgust. "You worthless thing!"

"Come on!" The first grunt said, and the two space dudes exited the area faster than you could say Jynx.

"Uh, who were those people?" Dawn, completely confused, asked.

"Team Galactic, there a bunch of noobs who go around trying to steal Pokémon, and you don't need to worry about them, since they're incredibly weak, as you just saw," Lucas replied, returning his Turtwig.

"Dawn," Professor Rowan warned, but she could detect a twinkle in his eyes. "Look at Shinx,"

Dawn turned around, and saw that Shinx was glowing a white color, which was almost like a supernatural occurence to her. The light grew brighter and brighter, so bright in fact, they had to shield their precious eyes from the Pokémon. When all the light disappeared, they all opened their eyes, and saw, not a Shinx, but a Luxio, purring its heart out.

"Score! Shinx evolved!" Dawn exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. "Did you see that Barry?" Right, Barry wasn't there. Dawn felt her heart sink, and detected a hint of jealousy in Lucas's eyes.


	9. Obvious Crushes

Chapter 11:

"Well, uh, we better get back!" Lucas said with a fake smile on his face, and weakly pumped his fist in the air. "Back to studying, and researching all day long, and examining Pokémon, and-

"Lucas, your attempts at trying to get out of work are sad," The Professor exclaimed haughtily, his hands behind his back. "But as I can see you have a certain fancy for this young lady, I'll let you go to Eterna City with her to research the Pokémon statue there. Now of course, no goofing off, you hear me?"

Lucas grinned a rather grateful smile, but his face was bright red. Dawn was next to him, and there was a slow blush rising on her cheeks. She muttered thank you to the Professor, and with Lucas, set off to get to Floraroma Town, which was practically the gateway to Eterna City as soon as Rowan strode away. There was silence for a few minutes as they left the massive city, but soon enough Lucas spoke up.

"So Dawn, I watched the contest on TV," He said, trying to start up a conversation. "You were really, really good!" He smiled at her, and rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands.

"Thanks," Dawn replied, haven gotten over from the whole Rowan, fancy this young lady comment. "I'm not cut out for them or battles, but I'm doing both of them just to prove that I can do them. I'm not a quitter."

"Neither am I," Lucas mused, shifting his backpack. Dawn suddenly got the feeling he wasn't talking about his research or working with Professor Rowan. Shaking the thought out of her head, she checked her Poketech to see the time. It was 11:00.

The scent of flowers hit their noses. There were an array of different ones, and it lifted Dawn off her feet. The path drew on in a straight line, and grass Pokémon were everywhere as far as she could see. Trainers were battling, and a soft breeze had just picked up. If this was the road to Floraroma Town, Dawn wildly wondered what the town would actually look like.

Something nudged the back of her leg. Dawn whipped around, which got Lucas a mouthful of navy blue hair. She looked down and saw a Roselia, its skin vivid green and its roses bright colors that stood out against the brown road. She bent down so she was face to face with the Pokémon.

"Hello," Dawn said, not really knowing what to do. The Roselia immediately ran away. She stood back up, dusted herself off, and grinned at Lucas, who had to stifle a blooming laugh.

"That was awkward!" He exclaimed, his brown eyes sparkling. Dawn rolled her eyes at him, and then started walking again.

"Rose! Roselia!" The Roselia glided back to Dawn, and then ran away once more. Now both trainers were staring after the Pokémon with a strange look in their eyes. Lucas had out a blue notebook and was scribbling something down furiously. No goofing off, Professor Rowan had told him, and he wasn't kidding. Dawn leaned closer to see what Lucas was writing. He was writing in a messy scrawl about odd behavior for this Pokémon. Dawn smiled and she shook her head as she viewed the now full page. He sure was passionate about his studies.

One of her Pokeballs started wiggling in her bag. Her smile vanished as she pulled Piplup's Pokeball out, and the penguin Pokémon burst free. Lucas started writing even more stuff. Piplup puffed out its chest, and started waddling towards the Roselia. There seemed to be a short conversation between the two, and then they positioned themselves for battle.

"Piplup, wait!" Dawn cried. "Why the heck are going to battle it?"

"Pip!" Piplup proclaimed proudly, and the battle began. Every time Dawn tried to intervene and either command Piplup to do a move, or just stop the battle altogether, every time, Piplup seemingly went on a short ramble, then they would continue fighting.

"Roselia has the type advantage, but Piplup seems stronger," Mused Lucas intelligently. "If my calculations are correct, then Piplup should win the battle."

Dawn looked at Lucas. In doing so, she noticed his cap was tilted just slightly to left, not entirely straight. She reached her arm up to the cap and made it straight and grinned when Lucas frowned and put it back in place.

Lucas shook his head and looked away from Dawn's enticing big blue eyes. "Looks like my calculations are correct," He pointed to the now fainted Roselia. "Throw a Pokeball at it or something."

Dawn shrugged indifferently, reached into her bag, and drew out a fresh Pokeball. She took a deep breath, and with expert aim, chucked it at the Roselia, and it immediately went inside of the ball. It quivered for a few seconds, and then clicked shut. Dawn grinned and retrieved the Pokeball.

"Good job Piplup, this is really your Pokémon!" She exclaimed, winking at the Pokémon. Piplup jumped in the air a few times, and then quickly went back inside of its own ball. The two of them stared at the ball in amazement. Piplup was sure an eccentric Pokémon, well, according to Lucas's notes. After a few seconds of silence, they continued on.

"Oi! Get out of my way!"

"Sounds like Barry," Dawn muttered under her breath, which Lucas caught, much to his displeasure, but when she turned around, there was a strange space dude like before. Lucas narrowed his eyes, and Dawn jumped back in surprise, bumping into Lucas.

The grunt ran past them without a second to spare, and in less than ten seconds, they couldn't see his space suit or his green-blue hair.

"Wonder what that was all about," Lucas muttered and Dawn nodded alongside him. "He was going in the direction we were going in. Do you want to-?

"Yeah, let's follow him, I've got my suspicions about him," Dawn replied back, staring after the grunt. "I swear, that Team Galactic bunch is up to no good, when I get my hands on them-

"Cool!" Lucas interrupted. "Come on, let's go!" with that, he grabbed Dawn's hand and started dragging her along the road, which got cute little giggles from the other trainers. Just to make it clear, she was not dating him, and she most definitely didn't like him like that! Some people just assumed stuff much too quick for her liking.


	10. Disobeying Pokemon and Brief Encounters

**Thanks for the reviews! You guys rock! I don't own Pokémon, and if I did the anime wouldn't be so bad! And I would add in Lucas! I have a poll on my profile about the story if you want to check that out. I've had a bit of writers block, so sorry this took forever to upload. Without further ado…**

**Enjoy!**

"I swear, the strangest things happen to _me!_" Dawn muttered to herself as she looked down at her bag, where the three Pokeballs rested. The Roselia was so strange, and Piplup was just naughty. Luxio was the only behaving one so far, but all the same…

Lucas came to a stop. "I'm guessing we have to go through this cavern," He noted, looking at the dark entrance.

"Okay!" Dawn shrugged, and started to walk. Less than four steps later, she spun around to see Lucas standing there, not moving in the slightest. "Are you coming?" She asked, folding her arms. Lucas snapped back to reality and jogged up to the bluenette, with an apologetic smile plastered on his face. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking at Lucas, who nodded. With one final glance, she climbed into the cavern.

"It's surprisingly light in here!" Lucas remarked as the duo resumed walking. "I mean, for a cavern. Half the time you'd have to use Flash or something like that…"

"Are you nervous?" Dawn playfully asked. Lucas snickered half heartedly and shook his head for a no. "Okay… but if we get scared, just come to me!"

Lucas rolled his warm brown eyes. _'Dawn is so strange,' _He thought as Dawn led the way. _'Then again, she hangs around a guy who always seems like he's on a sugar rush. Except she's so much better than him, hands down, anyone could see that. What the heck am I thinking?'_

They had reached the end of the dusty cavern and at the entrance of another route, even lovelier than the last one. The difference was the fact that the other route had a much more of a city tinge- this one was pure nature. So far no trainers, but you never know with these routes.

"Come on!" Dawn yelled, and grabbed his hand (Which made Lucas blush like mad) and started to drag him through the tall grass. Not like he was complaining or anything. He was quite comfortable, if anybody asked. Yep, he could get used to this. All Dawn had to do was fall in love with him, no problem-right?

After bolting past a grass type trainer who muttered something about, 'young love,' and 'stupid kids,' Dawn finally let go of Lucas's hand and grinned when she saw identical twins, lounging around, waiting for an unsuspecting challenger to drop by.

"Alright," Lucas sighed, fiddling with his cap. "Let's get this battle over with. And personally, I thought you didn't really like battles."

"I'm not a huge fan of them, but I still am training to do gym battles and contests, and I always have room to improve," Dawn folded her arms. "So I'm going to battle them, Mr. Researcher who's supposed to not slack off!"

Oh great, Professor Rowan's comment came flooding back to him. "Uh, sure!" he said nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Alright," He sighed, and Dawn grinned at him and started pulling him along to the twins.

"Hey!" They chanted as soon as they caught sight of Dawn and Lucas. "Let's battle!"

"Sure!" Dawn replied, and brought out one of her Pokeballs. She jerked her head at Lucas, because he seemed to be lost in daydream land. Shaking his head, he brought out his as soon as the twins brought out theirs. "Come out Roselia!"

With a bright light, the grass and poison type Pokémon was brought out, and Lucas brought out his Turtwig.

"Two grass type Pokémon?" The first twin asked, looking at the two Pokémon with an evil smile creeping up on her face. "You know, I think we should bring out our beloved Pokémon that our daddy just got us from the Kanto region!"

"Good idea!" The second twin giggled, and in a split second, a Growlithe and a Ponyta were out, with the dog Pokémon growling at Turtwig and Ponyta scratching its hooves against the ground.

"You guys can do the first move," Dawn told the twins.

"Alright! Growlithe, use ember!" One of the twins yelled, and from Growlithe's mouth came an array of small embers, which hit Lucas's Turtwig. Turtwig shook off the attack, and repositioned itself next to Dawn's newly caught Pokémon.

"Roselia, use…" Dawn tried to remember from Roselia and Piplup's battle. She had remembered Roselia using Razor Leaf. She'd have to check her Pokedex later to see what moves it had. "Razor Leaf!"

Roselia gave a strange look to Dawn, and then proceeded to use Mega Drain, with all the green draining power it had, instead of the chosen move that she selected. Great, a disobeying Pokémon! What else could go wrong?!

"Roselia, you were supposed to use Razor Leaf!" Dawn, exasperated, cried out as the twins snickered, even though the Mega Drain hit Ponyta hard and good. "Not Mega Drain!"

"Dawn, sometimes newly caught Pokémon don't obey you the first time around," Lucas whispered to her. She instantly blushed at the complete rookie mistake she had just made. Then again, she hadn't really battled an official leader so…"So try and be patient, okay?"

"Lame!" The second twin yelled (rather rudely at that) at Dawn. "Ponyta-

"Growlithe-

"USE EMBER!" They chanted together, and embers and sparks came flying at the two Pokémon like bullets. And to the poor Pokémon, it probably felt like it too.

"Turtwig, use withdraw!" Lucas said, and a wall of water came up in front of Turtwig and Roselia. The fire attacks slammed into the move, and the two grass Pokémon were protected for that attack. From the looks on their opponent's faces that they were not expecting that to happen.

"Roselia, please use- Oh crap, Roselia, don't do that!"

Dawn rubbed her temples as her disobeying Roselia proceeded to go and use Razor Leaf _now_, instead of deciding to use it for the previous move. Even though the attack hit the two opposing Pokémon good and hard and even knocked out Growlithe, Dawn still wasn't happy about it. She didn't even order the move, so she couldn't take credit for making Growlithe faint.

"Hey, watch out!"

A figure crashed into the twins, (they deserved it, Dawn thought) and then bolted before she or Lucas could get a good look at him (judging by the voice). He sounded familiar, but Dawn was too flooded with disappointment and annoyance to rack her brain for where she heard it before. Piplup, why couldn't you have battled a well behaving legendary Pokémon?!

"Ponyta, use Tackle!"

Ponyta rammed into Turtwig, which sent it flying backwards into a tree, officially knocking it out, complete with the swirly eyes, leaving Ponyta and Roselia on the battlefield, eyeing each other warily. (Which would end in disaster, Dawn mentally groaned)

She brought out her Pokedex, and flipped through it until she came across Roselia. It had Razor Leaf, Poison Powder, Mega Drain, and Growth. A nice array of moves, it could definitely be used properly in battle with the right strategies.

"Use Growth!" Dawn commanded, and much to her surprise, Roselia started glowing with the move. It actually obeyed her! "Now use Razor Leaf and Poison Powder! Please!"

The sharp and edgy leafs coated with poison came flying at Ponyta, a few burning in its flames, but none the less hitting it good and hard. It looked almost close to fainting on the spot, whereas Roselia was haughty and twirling around on foot.

"Ponyta, keep it together!" The little girl demanded. On the contrary, the Ponyta swayed and fell to the ground with a thud. "I said keep it together, not faint!"

"Score!" Dawn pumped her fist in the air as the little girl recovered over her loss and returned Ponyta to its Pokeball, but not after encouraging petting. "I'm sorry about your Pokémon!"

"This is a battle, you don't need to feel sorry," The twins chorused, looking at the bluenette like she was insane. "It's a way to bond; we can just get them healed in no time flat. Rookie mistake. Pokémon faint. People die. Get over it."

Dawn tensed up. Her dad had died when she was about seven or so, and it really was a sore subject for her. "Have you had anyone in your family die?" She tried to ask cheerfully, but it came out rather hollow sounding, and as soon as she said that, she felt Lucas's hand on her shoulder.

The twins eyed her, and started to walk away, muttering about crazy chicks and whatnot.

"Dawn? You okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Dawn brushed his hand off her shoulder. "Come on, I can see the entrance to Floraroma Town."

"Alright," Lucas shrugged. "Hey, how about we get an ice cream? My treat."

"Seriously? I could pay for my own you know…"

"Come on, I hear Floraroma has a great ice cream shop…"

**Chapter complete! **


	11. Welcome to Floraroma and the VW

Chapter 11:

Floraroma Town was a small, peaceful little town that Dawn found much more to her liking than Jubilife or Oreburgh.

There was an array of different colored flowers stretching out as far as the eye could see, with small, charming and cute little houses littered near the flowers, or in the gorgeous field. In the middle of it, was a slightly larger building than the rest of the houses, rising up higher, and four berry plants swayed in the slight breeze that picked up. South of the larger building, which turned out to be a flower and accessory shop, was a Pokémon Center, and next to it was a Pokémon Mart, recognized by its blue roof. The lazy sound rushing of water could be heard far over to the left, and people were mulling about, chatting with one another and taking deep breaths of the fresh flower scent.

"Where's the ice cream shop?" Dawn asked Lucas curiously, but he had disappeared seemingly. Dawn blinked her blue eyes a couple of times, and glanced around to see if Lucas was anywhere. Nope, he had vanished, without a word, or trace, completely unexpected.

Miffed, Dawn readjusted her bag and started to walk towards the Pokémon Center, hoping to book a room perhaps, and heal her Pokémon, or else how would she venture to Eterna City and through the forest? So, deciding that she would eventaully run into Lucas, as Floraroma was a small town, she casually walked up to the automatic opening door of the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy stood attentively, waiting for someone to approach her.

"Hi!" Dawn greeted the nurse, walking up to the counter and rumaged through her bag and brought out her Pokeballs. "Do you mind if you can heal these up, just in case? I'll be back in an hour or so, to see if I need to book I room. I lost my friend, if that's even possible..."

"Of course, and what unfortunate luck!" Nurse Joy replied politely, and grabbed the Pokeballs and put them in the healing machine a foot away from her. The screen right above it lit up, and ten seconds later Nurse Joy handed back the balls, and Dawn put them away, muttering thank you to her, then setting out once more into the peaceful town.

There wasn't much to do, except watch the flowers and relax, which was something Dawn excelled at. But she wanted to see what was up with the river to the right of the town, and see the pathway to Eterna forest, so she could get a good look at what kind of path she was dealing with, and maybe see the trainers battling or positioning themselves, waiting for a wandering trainer to swoop by.

With the grass crunching under her pink boots, she decided to explore the river and route.

It was a sunny day out, the sun hitting down on the trees and town not too hard, but just enough to make one enjoy the pleasent weather. The route (Dawn couldn't remember the name of it) was just the same as any others, with the tan colored road and all. As she walked by, she saw the dark blue river, and the bridge that connected to it. The only problem was, there were two spacemen Galactic Grunts like the ones she and Lucas had battled in Jubilife. They had their arms crossed, and glared at her as she passed by them. A shiver went through her, Dawn did not like them one bit.

"Trainer!"

Dawn turned around as a small girl with a big red bow in her brown hair ran up to her, her brown eyes filled to the brim with worry. "Trainer please help! The blue haired men took my papa and I can't see him!"

"It's alright," Dawn patted the girls head. "I'm a Pokémon trainer, I can bust your dad out of...?"

"The building over there!" The small child pointed farther to the right. "Please trainer, please!"

"I'm off, don't you worry!" Dawn reassured her, and gave a small wave of her hand, and resumed again.

There were windmills churning just past the grunts, and Dawn recognized the wide building as a power plant, the Valley Windworks to be exact, grass all around it, and a honey tree right beside the door, which was, just like the river bridge, guarded by a grunt, except for the fact that he seemed really insecure, and kept twitching his nose, and glancing around warily. Maybe he's friendly, Dawn thought as she grew nearer to the grunt.

"What do you want?" He barked at her. "You're not to come into the power plant!"

"Why not?" Dawn asked, placing her hands on her hips as she looked at the grunt, who heaved a sigh and frowned at the bluenette. "Why can't I?!" She asked again, this time putting more oomph into the word.

"Well!" The grunt exclaimed. "There is serious business going on in here, and I have orders not to let anybody in! Or else I'll have to battle them!"

Dawn grinned. "Then battle me then, because I want to get into that power plant!"

From his belt, the grunt drew a Pokeball. Dawn grabbed a random ball from her bag, and their eyes met for a fleeting second, before they sent out their Pokémon at the same time. Very much expected, a Glameow was sitting comfortably on the ground, purring. In front of the cat was Piplup, looking rather prideful and ready to battle. The Glameows weren't that hard to beat when it came to the grunts, so it should be a blast to beat them.

"I'm going first!" The grunt yelled. "Glameow, use scratch!"

Glameow leapt up gracefully onto its paws, and started running at full speed towards Piplup. Its claws flashed dangerously, and Piplup jumped up, right as Glameow attempted to scratch Dawn's Pokémon.

"Peck, if you please!" Dawn exclaimed, and Piplup's small and yellow beak lit up silver with power of the move, and hit Glameow hard, sending it flying backwards, as that was the power of the move. Dawn craned her neck to get a better look at the fallen Glameow- it had fainting on contact with Piplup's awesome move. The grunt's face paled almost instantly.

"Well, I still have the key, and I can lock in from the inside!" He taunted, trying to let his disapointment hide. "The only other key is with my friend!" With that, he gathered up his, quote, "useless" Glameow, and ran inside. Dawn could hear the click of the lock, and she knew that she had no choice but to try and get that other key from his alleged friend. Now where would his alleged friend be...?

She passed the little girl, who was quietly picking at a flower, not noticing Dawn, and past those serious looking grunts, and back into Floraroma Town. Piplup trotted alongside her, its head held high at one-shotting the Glameow. "Now, don't get too full of yourself," Dawn waved a finger at her first Pokémon, and smiled fondly at it. She vaguely remembered when she first got it, way back when they were at Lake Verity...

That was not that long ago, but seemed like it was last year or something.

"You know, I do think I know where that grunt's friend, whose also probably a grunt as well, is hiding," Dawn said, snapping her fingers togetherm, her mind putting events together. "You ready to kick some more galactic butt with Luxio and Roselia?"

Piplup gave a proud little cry, and puffed out its chest haughtily.

"Come on, we have to go in these flowers in order to get there. I noticed this entrance when Lucas and I first stepped foot in Floraroma," Dawn waded past the multi-colored flowers, and edged towards the thicket of trees, just like the ones at Lake Verity. There was indeed an entrance there, as Dawn has assumed. She winked at Piplup, and the two of them walked past the trees, and into the field of flowers, which was pure heaven.

Standing in the way were two grunts, their backs turned to Dawn and facing a balding man, who held a jar of what seemed like honey in his arms protectively.

"Hand over the honey or you'll pay!" One of the two yelled at the man, and took a step forward to scare the poor guy into oblivion. "Or it will mean serious trouble for you!" The grunt alongside him nodded at his friend's fierce words.

Dawn coughed rather loudly, and the grunts whirled around on their heels and stared at her evilly, their faces lighting up with the prospect of hopefully a battle, but darkening in the evil way Team Galactic did.

"Well, well, well, looks like we have a little duck who wandered away from its mommy!" The second grunt exclaimed, giving a pouty face to Dawn. Her partner looked at her strangely. "Now, what do you want? We're trying to do business here!"

"Business?!" The man piped up, looking worriedly from one grunt to another to Dawn again. "So, is trying to steal honey without my consent, business!? I should think... not..." He faltered under the glare of the female grunt, the first one Dawn had seen. And here she though girls had common sense.

"Kid, we're going to have to force you away from here," The male shrugged, a sinister smile etched upon his face. "You'll be kept quiet after this."

Together as if they had practiced, two Pokeballs flew up in the air, and a Zubat and of course, a Glameow were posied, ready to battle. Dawn started to calculate the types and advantages in her head. If she sent out Roselia, Roselia first off didn't have that much training, and would be at a disadvantage with the Zubat. So, deciding she would do some one on one training with Roselia later, she sent out Luxio, who stood next to Piplup, who was already out of its Pokeball. But before Dawn could even open her mouth, one of the grunts had just sent out a Wing Attack with the Zubat.

Luxio quickly dodged it, its fur bristling with electricity. Piplup, without Dawn's orders, sent out a stream of Bubblebeam. "Piplup!" Dawn snapped, but grinned as she saw the Bubblebeam hit the Glameow. "Luxio, use Spark!"

Luxio emitted a low growl, and the spark ball was sent spiraling towards both Pokémon. It narrowly missed the Glameow, but hit the Zubat square in the stomach, its wings flapping furiously. The grunts grinned triumphantly as their Pokémon got back up, the attacks shaken off.

"Bite!" The Zubat's trainer commanded it.

"Glameow, use Fury Swipes immediatley!"

The two threw themselves as Luxio and Piplup, their faces fierce. Glameow started to claw at Piplup, and certainly was successful. Zubat bit Luxio, but only to get shocked. The Pokémon started moving backwards, their breathing heavy as Piplup and Luxio stared cold and hard at them. The male grunt bit the inside of his cheek, and whispered something in the female's ear.

"Retreat!" They yelled, and their Pokémon were sucked back into the Pokeballs.

The grunts ran around Dawn and out of the flower field.

"Hey, thanks so much!" The man exclaimed, his voice wavering. "Here, have this honey. Oh, and those hooligans dropped this, if you're interested."

Dawn smiled in thanks for the honey, and looked closely at what was placed in the man's outstretched hand. It was a silver key, with small, cramped writing on the yellow part of it. She grinned as she realized it said, "Galactic key," and was probably the key to the Valley Windworks, and that one of them was probably the other grunt's friend.

"This can come deeply in handy..."

**Well, not much, but a chapter, nonetheless!**


End file.
